ICS Daily Devotions
The Generous Heart of God
Genesis 2:16-17 (NKJV) And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
God handed everything to Adam after He had created everything. Adam and Eve were able to eat of every tree in the garden except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they ate from that tree, the act would cause them to die and separate mankind both physically and spiritually from God. However, Adam and Eve did fall into temptation and disobeyed God and hence, all that mankind is experiencing in the present state of the world is due to man’s fallen nature. But God is a generous God, and we are still enjoying and being blessed by His creation today. God has a part to play in everything created on this earth be it in the areas of medical / aeronautical / pharmaceutical sciences, technology etc because He has given humans brains to think, imagine, create, plan and develop. Creativity originates from God since we are made in His image.
In another passage in Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV), it says “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
In this passage, God had already brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. They were well provided for and protected during their journey in the wilderness and God was bringing them into a good land where it was flowing with milk and honey. It was a beautiful place to live in, rich and abundant in natural resources. The only condition that God required was that they would not become proud, forget Him and follow other gods. God demanded absolute allegiance and worship from the Israelites, as He does of us today. God wants us to remember that all the blessings we have today come from Him.
In the New Testament, Jesus tells us the heart of God is to give good things to those who ask of Him.
Matthew 7:11 (NKJV) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
God is not offended when we have an abundance of everything because He is the source of our blessings. Unfortunately, the devil will always try to pervert everything good and pleasurable that God has given us. The devil wants us to love ourselves and the pleasures of the world more than loving God. We must decide to either wholly submit to God or be lured by the lust of the world.
God has created everything in this world for us to enjoy. The whole of creation is beautiful and for us to enjoy (e.g snow-capped mountains, beautiful beaches etc). We can conclude that God is not against us enjoying everything that He has blessed us with be it physical, material or financial things that bring enjoyment to our emotions. He has given us everything to enjoy including healthy sex within a marriage relationship. All these engage our senses in a healthy way, which God has so generously given us. Let us enjoy God’s blessings God’s way!
Sermon Series: Help! My Prayers Are Not Answered!
